Poet laureate stats: numbers, race and gender

Let’s imagine, for a moment, that the appointment of a U.S. poet laureate commanded the same sort of attention as the NFL draft.

If it did, Natasha Trethewey would be a bit of an upset.

The professor of English and creative writing at Atlanta’s Emory University — who won a Pulitzer Prize in 2007 for her poetry book, “Native Guard” — is Southern, mixed race and, at age 46, mid career. She was named the new U.S. poet laureate on Thursday.

Most of the poet laureates have been white men and most have been over 50. The two most recent, Philip Levine and W.S. Merwin, were octogenarians when appointed.

Often, U.S. poet laureates use their position to bring attention to issues or themes they hold dear.

Kay Ryan, for example, spent the bulk of her career teaching remedial English in California. During her tenure (2008-2010), Ryan waved the flag for community colleges. “Community colleges are fantastic and under-respected, the cart-horse of our educational system,” Ryan told the Houston Chronicle in 2011. “They’re the most democratic thing we’ve got going.”

Louise Bogan, first female U.S. poet laureate

W.S. Merwin, who served from 2010 to 2011, used the appointment as a platform to discuss human imagination and life as a whole, “which does not just include this self-important human species,” he told the Chronicle earlier this year.

Here are some fast facts — numbers, race and gender –about the appointment:

1. The poet laureate post has existed under two titles: from 1937 to 1986 it was called “Consultant in Poetry to the Library of Congress” and from 1986 until now, “Poet Laureate Consultant in Poetry.” Trethewey is the 19th “Poet Laureate Consultant in Poetry,” but if you lump both titles together, she’s actually No. 49.

Rita Dove, the youngest U.S. poet laureate. She was appointed at age 40.

2. Trethewey is the 10th woman to become U.S. poet laureate. The first woman to win the appointment was Louise Bogan (1945-1946).

3. Trethewey is the third African-American woman to receive the title, preceded by Gwendolyn Brooks (1985-1986) and Rita Dove (1993-1995).

4. The only African-American man to serve as U.S. poet laureate was Robert Hayden (1976-1978).

5. At 46, Tretheway is one of the youngest appointees: Dove was the youngest, selected when she was just 40.

6. The appointment comes with a $35,000 per year stipend, as well as $5,000 for traveling expenses.